It is best to buy firm, fresh looking beetroot with the lush leaves attached. Cut the leaves off to make washing and peeling of the bulbs easier. The leaves can be cooked and eaten as another side dish.

Beetroot is a very ordinary and unattractive looking vegetable with an unjustified image problem. I think this has a lot to do with the canned variety of limp beetroot slices which would slip about on top of other fillings within hamburgers, sandwiches and rolls. Eventually everything would be soaked with a purple, vinegary liquid. 

Put the above image behind you because beetroot is a truly bountiful vegetable bursting with benefits. It can be …
roasted…
boiled…
steamed…
pickled…
incorporated into cakes adding richness and texture to chocolate cake in particular and…
eaten raw. Yum!

We were able to enjoy this versatile veg first hand this evening when mum made her Beautiful Beetroot, Orange and Ginger Salad. This moist, richly coloured dish was teamed with Chilcott’s Butchery’s sirloin steaks and hand made beef sausages hot off the barbecue. I tossed together an abundant mixed salad (pictured) which included baby bocconcini, orange marinated olives and crunchy fresh veggies, lightly drizzled with apple cider vinegar, sea salt and olive oil. 

We all had a decent dose of iron this evening via the beef but also the beetroot. You see this vegetable contains iron, an important mineral for everyone  but especially essential for growing children and pregnant women. It is also a good source of fibre, vitamin C, immune system boosting antioxidants, magnesium, vitamin B-6 and potassium.  

The lovely lush green and red tinted leaves can also be eaten by either steaming them or braising with a little olive oil, a grind of black pepper and sea salt and enjoyed in a similar way to spinach. 

I encourage you to give this vegetable a go, starting with my mother’s Beautiful Beetroot, Orange and Ginger Salad. This is an easy, speedy and satisfyingly delicious dish which will have you piling seconds and even thirds onto your dinner plate. 

Beautiful Beetroot, Orange and Ginger Salad to serve 8 people

Ingredients
1 x bunch of medium sized fresh beetroot (about 5 bulbs each the size of a truss tomato)
2 medium sized sweet carrots
1/2 teaspoon fresh ginger  – very finely grated
the rind of 1 small orange  – very finely grated
juice of 2 small oranges
1 tablespoon vino cotto or 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar and 1/2 a tablespoon of honey.
juice of 1 small lime
sea salt to taste
half a handful of finely chopped flat leaf parsley

*The beetroot needs to be washed well in cold water and peeled using a potato peeler. I recommend you wear gloves to do this or risk ending up with pink stained hands! 

Grate the beetroot and carrots on a medium setting preferably using a food processor which will take about 20 seconds. if you don’t have a food processor, you can resort to the traditional method of using a manual grater but this takes longer. Having the correct utensils makes home cooking so much more manageable. 

Add all the other ingredients along with the grated beetroot and carrot to a large salad bowl and toss together with salad tongs or similar serving spoons until combined, taking care not to crush the ingredients. 

This salad can even be prepared hours in advance of when it is required because the beetroot is robust in texture. In fact, the flavours really develop when the salad is allowed to rest in this way prior to serving.